The Federal Trade Commission and four states on Wednesday sued a trade group for gender-affirming care providers, claiming it made false and unsubstantiated claims about the benefits of transition-related services. Why it matters: The complaint in a federal court in Texas opens another front in the Trump administration's efforts to limit the availability of puberty blockers, hormone therapies and other forms of care.The FTC has been investigating medical groups over claims surrounding gender-affirming care. A federal judge in May blocked an attempt to subpoena two groups' internal records and other information. Driving the news: The FTC alleged the World Professional Association for Transgender Health failed to disclose side effects and misrepresented medical necessity of gender-affirming medical care for minors. WPATH members have "profited immensely from the organization's work ... at the expense of children and their parents," FTC director of public affairs Joe Simonson told reporters. Alaska, Iowa, Nebraska and Texas are joining the FTC in the suit, which is filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas — a focal point of other administration efforts to curtail transition care. WPATH didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.Context: The FTC under Chairman Andrew Ferguson last year launched an inquiry into whether health providers are failing to disclose risks connected with gender-affirming care or are making false claims about its benefits. The commission has since found "substantial evidence" of consumer injury from gender-affirming care for minors, FTC officials claim. The other side: "It has been clear from the very beginning that the FTC's 'investigation' of WPATH is not a good-faith consumer protection investigation, but a campaign to use government power and resources to harass and intimidate a legitimate medical organization because of its views," Kellan Baker, senior advisor for health policy at Movement Advancement Project, told Axios in an email. "Consumer protection laws should be used to protect the public from fraud and deception, not to target medical organizations whose viewpoints are unpopular with government officials," he added. Reality check: Gender-affirming care for minors is supported by major medical organizations, including the American Medical Association.Drugs like puberty blockers and hormone therapy are prescribed based on individuals' needs and surgeries for minors are rare. Researchers have found such interventions lowered the odds of depression and suicidal thoughts in transgender youths.